In celebration of its 40th Anniversary, the UPLB Museum of Natural History launched its first Digital Photo Contest with the theme “Celebrating Philippine Natural Heritage”. The contest aims to feature the richness of Philippine biodiversity and give premium to these natural resources as a heritage to keep.

More than 50 entries that highlighted different forms of biodiversity and natural resources were received. The top 16 entries were pre-screened by Mr. Alastair Gibbons, MNH Volunteer from University of Nottingham, United Kingdom.

This year, the UPLB Museum of Natural History (MNH) celebrates 40years of preserving Philippine natural heritage. In its opening celebration on Sept. 26 at the CAS Auditorium, the MNH looked back on its origins and history with some of its founding members and important personalities.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Juan Carlos T. Gonzalez, director of MNH, said that the MNH has come a long way from its humble beginnings. He also said that the Museum is continually undergoing changes to make the exhibits savvier.

The UPLB Museum of Natural History is very pleased to announce its Digital Photography Contest as part of its activities in its upcoming 40th Anniversary Week Celebrations from 26-30 September 2016. The MNH 40th Anniversary Photo Contest will have the theme “Celebrating Philippine Natural Heritage. Everyone currently in residence in the Philippines are eligible to join. For more details, continue reading on the contest guidelines.

A new ground orchid has been named after Museum staff Mary Ann Cajano by a group of researchers from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand and the Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Foundation.

In a correspondence published in Phytotaxa (http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.266.1.9), Pieter B. Pelser, Kim John S. Doble, Peter O'Byrne, Paul Ormerod and Julie F. Barcelona announced their discovery of a new species, Gastrodia cajanoae Barcelona & Pelser, which their group has documented in 2012, 2015 and 2016.

The Museum of Natural History is now logging incoming service requests and clientele feedback with the use of a simple application accessible at the Director’s Office transaction desk.

Clients are now requested to file their requests only at the Director’s Office and not through the Museum’s different sections. All requests for services and technical assistance provided by the Museum should be submitted to the Director for appropriate action.

There are more good things to come for the Museum, as the staff of Coca-cola FEMSA Philippines, Inc. – Canlubang Plant pledged to volunteer in the upkeep of the Hortorium starting with a tree-planting activity held this 13 August 2016.

Assisted by several staff and volunteers from the Museum of Natural History, around 20 employees of Coca-cola FEMSA planted 100 seedlings of indigenous dipterocarp tree species in selected areas inside the Hortorium. The seedlings, meanwhile, were donated by the Energy Development Corporation (EDC).